Thursday, 31 December 2015

2015 In Review

I have started this post several times - and have settled on a review of the year. More for my own benefit than anything else, it has been an 'interesting albeit time consuming' exercise.

I was doing really well this year - a lot of dolls were re-homed....but then I probably blew my good intentions with my Makie population - although that will probably never increase as I really don't like the ones now produced with the IM bodies. They do absolutely nothing for me...which in a way is a good thing!

I am going to try and go on a 'No buying Dolls' goal this New Year - leaving the Sasha Festival in the USA as my exception. Probably the only way to achieve this will be to avoid looking on Evilbay for a start. However, I won't say never in case the opportunity arises for me to obtain something on my wish list - which is actually quite small now I am thankful to say!

I wonder if I work out how many dolls left compared to how many dolls arrived this year how I did with the doll population? Do I dare work that out I wonder?

I have one doll still left to arrive who was ordered and paid for months ago - she is a Hitty doll. She was supposed to arrive before Christmas but apparently the order was held up - which is no problem as it will be a lovely treat when she does finally arrive bearing in mind that I am not planning on any new dolls to arrive otherwise.

I think this is the total of dolls rehomed:

Nine American Girls
Two Tonner Marley girls
One Agnes Dreary
One Viktor Dreary
One Tressy
Three Vintage Porcelain Dolls
Two Kidz n Cats girls
Two Barbie Dolls
Three Dolly Darlings
One Gotz Doll
One Kader Baby Doll
One Lati Doll
Two Lottie Dolls
One Tonner Doll Maudlynne
One Moni Doll
One Monster High Doll
One Sylvia Natterer Doll
One Reborn Doll
One Sasha Baby Doll
Two Sasha Dolls
One Schoenhut Baby Doll
Four Schoenhut Dolls
Three Hitty Dolls

The first doll to arrive in the New Year was I believe Wren, my Makie - and I soon reneged on my 'only one Makie' rule and towards the end of the year when I heard that they were no longer producing the full printed bodies, well we know what happened - Makie population explosion!

Wren's arrival photo

Also in January my very beautiful Schoenhut (14/313) Florence arrived. She really is the gem in my collection so far and is gorgeous - she has such a pretty face.

Peggy Sue was the first to make her feel very welcome.

Also arriving in January - turns out it was a busy month for newcomers - was American Girl Sonali, Chrissa's friend.

I was delighted with her arrival as one of my goals this year was to get all three girls in this year and storyline.

Pedigree Elizabeth the Dressmaking Doll also arrived late January - and I have the set of patterns to make her a wardrobe - of which I have made about three so far.

The first thing I did was make her a prettier dress.

I soon managed to track down some shoes for her so she is no longer barefooted!

Lastly in January this little doll just had to join my eclectic doll family when I saw her in a junk shop. I love her rosey little cheeks and orange dress.

Gosh five dolls in January!

FEBRUARY

February was a quiet month as I prepared to go to New Zealand to visit my family so no dolls joined me in February.

MARCH

This was also a 'quiet' month as I was in New Zealand, although a doll did join my family. My dear mother who sadly has Alzheimers gave me this doll, believing it was hers from when she was a little girl, knowing how much I like dolls. This doll of course wasn't but it is even more special as my Mum believes it is, and wanted to give her to me, so this doll will always be treasured.

It has taken me some time to find out who she is - she is made by Estrela and is from what I understand 'Karin' and would have originally come in a bridal dress.

She is still wearing a temporary dress I found that fits her - almost. I am going to try and make her something more suitable in the New Year.

APRIL

No doll purchases in April - although I did bring home from New Zealand a Bratz doll to 'make over'

MAY

Seems there were quite a few new arrivals in May

I was delighted to find a new in box Gwen and she joined Chrissa and Sonali

So pleased to have these three girls.

From the same seller of Gwen I also discovered she had Australian Girl Matilda also new in box - having wanted to add one of these to my collection for some time I didn't hesitate.

She reminds me very much of a dear friend of mine whom I went to school with and who now lives in Australia....she had hair very similar to Matilda, although it is blonde and she has a lovely big smile as well.

Another unexpected arrival was this delightful 'Little Poppet' made by a friend of mine. I'd admired this doll when she was first made, but missed out on her so when she became available I couldn't resist as she reminds me so much of my sister when she was young.

Oliver William (14/312) was a welcome addition to the Schoenhut family.

He very quickly made friends with Florence who enjoyed teaching him hand games.

The delightful Fern, my first 'Barefoot Doll' - a Bratz makeover.

Another one of my favourite Barefoot Dolls is Maire (Raven)

JUNE, JULY, AUGUST

I concentrated on selling some dolls and toys during these months as felt I had been rather overdoing it a bit!

SEPTEMBER

I 'accidentally' saw this charming one of a kind cloth doll one day and was very intrigued by her so she came home...Her name is Wendy Forget Me Not.

This waif Nancy Ann Story Book doll was welcomed as I had plans for her....

She was to become my Christmas Tree Fairy.

After selling several of my Schoenhut dolls, this girl seemed to speak to me - I certainly have a thing for waifs and strays!

She was in a bit of a sorry way....

But with a new wig and a general clean she was much happier.

Vanessa enjoyed playing out in the garden with Peggy Sue and helped to pick up the leaves.

OCTOBER

October saw the arrival of a rather special doll made by an online friend of mine.

I gave her a new wig that I had lying around which was going to be a temporary measure but she seems quite fond of it.

I have to confess and say it took until December to name her - thanks to a friend of mine who came up with several suggestions - I settled on Hazel which seems to suit her.

I am planning to feature Hazel a lot more in the New Year.

NOVEMBER

No new arrivals in November

DECEMBER

This gorgeous Kathe Kruse boy joined the family - he was a Christmas present to myself (oops!)

He has the most adorable face and is just a little bit taller than my Sasha & Gregor family so he should fit in well.

Finally a group photo of the Makie gang who arrived at various stages throughout the year.

I did get some Sasha & Gregor dolls during the year - all on my 'wish list' so that was exciting. They will feature on my Sasha & Gregor blog which can be found here, or on the link on the side bar.

This has been quite an enlightening and eye opening experience doing this year in review and actually a bit of a shock! No wonder I have a lack of space and no spare funds! It all feels rather over indulgent and greedy as well. So many people do without. Definitely time to pull in the reins somewhat!

Over the year (or probably the last couple of years), and especially this last mongth I have toyed with the idea of amalgamating my Sasha blog and this one, but am still unsure, so have decided for now to leave them as they are. Part of the problem is the name - would I change the blog name? That could become confusing, especially for followers... hence part of my dilemma.

I will probably blog a lot less this coming year as I want to focus on some other things - but we shall see.

Thank you! I actually feel rather ashamed at the indulgence really but I could have worse hobbies! It is rather a diverse collection - sometimes I think it would be easier if I liked less variety, but hey they say variety is the spice of life and they bring me pleasure and make me smile which is the important thing.

A Very Happy and Healthy New Year to you to and thank you for your lovely comments and support throughout this last year.

So many dolls, such diversity and soooo many Makies. Not sure what to make of all the changes at the Makie Lab. Maybe they don't have a choice if they want to survive? Selling great dolls nobody's buying is rather disastrous for a company... I think they should give their customers a choice between the more expensive body and the new, cheaper one. That seems a great compromise to me. ;)

About Me

Balancing being a wife to a long suffering, patient wonderful husband, being a mum to two boys,or is it men?! One who is 26, (the Sailor), the other now 21 (the Politician) - how did that happen?! The years go by far too quickly! One has left home and the other is essentially away most of the time as well sailing the seas. Balancing being myself, being a Kiwi, being a Brit, being a self-employed, (currently non-playing and non-working) musician, being a housewife who loves music, collecting, crafts, cavies, and dolls. Feeling quite content.